Catering standards require that food be served at either an elevated temperature or a chilled temperature. In addition to providing good taste and texture at these temperatures, bacteria, fungi and virus do not proliferate well. To maintain the temperature of food after having being cooked or refrigerated, food can be placed into a thermally insulated container, particularly when the food is to be transported prior to consumption. For example, hot beverages such as tea and coffee, may be placed in the thermally insulated cups and flasks.
Thermally insulated containers are essentially a double walled structure comprising an inner receptacle and an outer receptacle in which the inner and outer receptacles are made in separate moulds and joined together at a mouth of the container. Thermal insulating material may be located between the inner and outer receptacles, otherwise an air gap may be left between the inner and outer receptacles to act as the insulating material.
There are a number of difficulties with the insulated containers presently available, including for instance, the inner and outer receptacles are often made with tapered walls to allow one to fit inside the other and then joined, typically by welding at the top of the container. This results in a container having outer dimensions that is typically 30 to 40% larger than the total capacity of the container for holding the food. Moreover, the containers can be unstable on account of the containers have a relatively high centre of gravity.
In addition, these types of insulated containers are often relatively heavy, compared to single walled containers, which can have the negative property of acting as a heat sink.
In addition, thermally insulated containers are typically manufactured by a multifaceted process in which the inner receptacle and outer receptacles are moulded in their respective moulds, and then the inner receptacle is connected to the outer receptacle in a dedicated manufacturing step. The time and cost of manufacturing an insulated container is therefore often considerably more than the cost for manufacturing singled walled containers.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an alternative container and a process for manufacturing the container.